Sheet-feeding machine.



F. L. CROSS. SHEET FEEDING MACHINE. Arrucmpu FILED 050.12. 1912.

Patented May 9,1916.

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SHEET FEEDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION men 020.12.1912.

Patented May 9, 1916.

SHEETS-SHEET 2.

F. L. CROSS.

SHEET FEEDING MACHINE.

Avrucmou men 050. :2. i912- Patent-ed May 9, 1916.

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F. L. CROSS.

SHEET FEEDING MACMNE APPLICATION men we. l2. 19x2.

1,182,837. Patented May 9,1916.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK L. CROSS, 0F PORT'WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO CROSS PAPER FEEDER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

SHEET-FEEDING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 12, 1912. Serial No. 736,345.

the following to be a full. clear,-and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to paper feeding machines, and more particularly to mechanism for securing the front registry of the sheets, and for preventing further carrying forward of the sheet in case it is not in proper register.

()ne object of the invention is to provide novel and improved'sheet registering devices by which the edge of the sheet may be brought positively and accurately against the gages by which its position and alinementis determined. A further object of the invention is to provide means for preventing the taking of the sheet by the devices to which the sheets are being fed, in

case the sheet is not properly positioned at the front gages.

To these ends the invention comprises the features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter described and referred to in..the claims. N

The various features of the invention will be readily understood from an inspection of the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the mechanism illustrated therein.

In' the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation showing so much of a paper feeding machine as is necessary to illustrate the application of the presentinvention thereto; Fig. 2 is a detail View showing parts of the mechanism for withdrawing sheets from the front gages; Fig. 3 is a partial plan 7,

view of the machine; Fig. '4 is a vertical sectional view on line 2--2, Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a detail side elevation of the sheet registerin'g'devices; Fig. 6 is a plan view of the devices shown in Fig.5; Fig. 7 is a detail plan view of the devices for withdrawing the sheet from the front gages; and Fig. 8 is a perspective view illustrating the mode of operation of the sheet registering devices.

In the drawings the invention is illustrated as embodied in a paper feeding ma- Patented May 9, 1916; l

chine known as the Cross paper feeder. In this machine a bank of sheets is'acted upon by two independently controlled combing wheels one of which is indicated at lin' Fig. 3.

with the bank of sheets at regular intervals, i and each wheel is disengaged from the sheet 1 by devices controlled by a trip finger 2 arranged to lie-engaged by the front edge advanced into position to be acted upon by the delivery rolls 3 and 4. The devices for of the top sheet when the sheet has been controlling and operating the combing wheels are the same in construction and mode of operation as the corresponding de vices fully shown and described in the patent to Cross, No. 812,260, February 13, 1906.

The lower delivery rolls 3 are secured to a shaft 5 which is. actuated by an oscillating 60 The combing wheels are engaged segment 6, and the upper rolls 4 are m0unt-' ed upon a shaft which is carried by arms 7 secured to a rock shaft 8. The rock shaft is oscillated to raise and lower the upper rolls at proper intervalsby a cam 9 on the cam ferred to. The sheets advanced by the delivery rolls are forwarded to the front gages the sheets are being fed by forwarding rolls unison with the delivery rolls 3 through chains 15 and gearing 16. The upper.for-

warding rolls 13 are carried in arms 15 secured to a rock sleeve 17 which is oscillated at proper intervals to raise and lower the rolls through alink 18, one end of which is connected" to an arm 19 on the rock sleeve,

and the other end of which is arranged to be engaged by one arm of a lever 20, the

other arm of which carries a roll engaging a cam 21 on the cam shaft 10. The link is forced against the lever by a spring 22. The segment 6 is oscillated from a crank 23 on the cam shaft 10, so that'the delivery and a.

forwarding rolls are accelerated and then retarded during the forwarding of the sheet to thefront gages. After the sheet has been thus forwarded, the upper delivery and forwarding rolls are raised, and the lower rolls are rotated idly in a reverse direction, as

in the machine of the patent referred to.

After the sheet has been advanced to or nearly to the front gages by the forwarding '80 shaft 10, as in the machineof the patent rerolls, it is acted upon by registering devices which act in alternating succession upon the sheet to position it with its front edge in accurate alinement against the front gages. The registering devices are spaced apart transversely of the sheet, and since they are constructed and arranged to operate in alternating succession, each device acts upon the sheet while the sheet is free to move with relation to the other device, either in the line of feed or transversely to the line of feed. The front edge of the sheet will therefore be brought into accurate alinement against the front gages, in case its front edge is out of transverse alinement when advanced by the sheet delivery and forwarding devices. The registering devices may be of any suitable construction. and may be actuated in any suitable manner to act upon the sheet in alternating succession, so that each acts between the succeeding actions of the other. In the construction shown, the registering devices comprise two sets of rolls, each set comprising an under-roll 2i and an upper roll The under rolls are secured to a shaft 26 which is continuol, gsly driven through a chaiimill connected "by gearing with the cam shaft 10. Each of therolls is notched to provide a series of sheet engaging surfaces 28 separated by depres-."

sions or notches 29. The rolls are so secured to the shaft that the sheet engaging surfaces 28 on one roll are in line with the depressions on *the other roll. The cooperating upper rolls are carried in hell crank levers 30 pivotally supported upon arms 31 secured to a transverse rod 32. The levers 30 are provided with stop screws for determining the lower positions of the rolls 95, and are forced in a direction to press the rolls 25 toward the rolls 24 by springs 3-1. The levers 30 are also provided with rearwardly projecting fingers 35 arranged to be engaged by arms 36 secured to the rock sleeve 17 which carries the upper forwarding rolls. 'hen the upper fm'warding rolls are raised, as indicated in Fig. the upper registering rolls are in position to engage the sheet and press it against the sheet engaging surfaces '28 of the lower rolls 24. Then the two sets of registering rolls are in this position the sheet engaging surfaces 28 on the lower rolls act in alternating succession to engage and feed forward the sheet and bring its front edge positively into engagement with the front gages. If the front edge of the sheet should be out of transverse alinement, as indicated in Fig. 8, the edge of the sheet in advance of one set of regis tering rolls will engage the corresponding front gage before the edge of the sheet in front of the other set of registering rolls engages the correspomling front gage.

In Fig. 8 the edge of the sheet at the right is shown in engagement with the right-hand front gage, while the edge of the sheet at the left has not yet reached the front gage. Under this condition the sheet engaging surfaces 28 of the left-hand registering roll 2 will act to advance the sheet while the surfaces 28 of the right-hand roll '24 are out of engagement with the sheet, so that the sheet is free to swing around the right-hand front gages. the surface of the sheet moving laterally between the rolls, as indicated by the arrow. The sheet is thus swung positively into position with its front edge properly alined against the front gages. After the edge of the sheet is brought against the front gages, the registering rolls will serve to maintain it in engagement with the gages so long as they act upon the sheet. the sheet engaging surfaces of the roll acting to feed the sheet forward slightly and then to release it, so that its edge will be continually forced against the front gages. The sheet will buckle slightly during the action of the sheet engaging surfaces-of the rolls after its front edge has engaged the front gages. but will spring back immediately when the notches register with the upper rolls.

The lowering and'raising of the upper -egistering rolls'25. to render the registering rolls active and inactive. is controlled by the cam '21 which raises and lowers the upper forwarding rolls 13. The cam is so shaped and timed that the forwarding rolls'l3 are raised as the front edge of the sheet reaches the front gages, and this movement of the forwarding rolls lowers the registering rolls 25 into position to cooperate with the under registering rolls 24 in the manner above described. Before the front gages 11 are moved to free the sheet so that it may be taken away by the grippers 37 of the feed or impression cylinder to which the sheets are being fed. the cam 21 allows the sleeve 17 to rock sufficiently to raise the upper registering rolls 25. This movement of the rock sleeve is not SllfilCiQIlt. however, to engage the fm'warding rolls 13 with the lower forwarding rolls 12. and the forwarding rolls remain out of action until the succeeding sheet has-been advanced into position to be operated upon by them. The upper forwarding rolls are then lowered into engagement with the lower rolls, as indicated in Fig. 4. The movement of the sleeve 17 at this time raises the rolls 25 idly into their extreme upper position. The raising and lowering of the upper registering rolls may be so timed that the registering rolls remain in action until the front gages are about to be operated to free the sheet. in which case they will serve to maintain the front edge of the sheet against the front gages until the sheet is about to be seized by the grip pers or other devices which take it away from the front gages. Under usual condiright-hand registering &

an edge of the sheet, two sets of transversely spaced rolls constructed and actuated to engage the sheet in alternating succession to move it against the gages.

1. A sheet feeding machine. having. in eomhination. edge gages. and two pails of registering rolls. one roll of each pair he ing provided with alternating sheet engaging surfaces and depressions. the depressions in one roll heing in time with the sheet engaging surfaces of the other.

.3. A sheet feeding machine. having. in combination. edge gages.transverselv spaced registering devices acting in alternate succession on the sheet. sheet forwarding devices. and means for rendering .the registering devices inactive during the action of the forwarding devices and active as the forwarding devices are rendered inactive.

t3. A sheet feeding machine. having. in comhination. edge gages for positioning an edge of the sheet. transversely spaced registering' devices acting in alternating succession on the sheet to move it against the gages. and means for rendering the registering devices inactive hefore the edge gages free the sheet.

T. A sheet feeding machine. having. in comhination. edge gages. two sets of registering rolls. mechanism for actuating the rolls to act on the sheet in alternating succession. sheet forwarding rolls. mechanism for throwing the forwarding rolls out of action and the registering rolls into action as the sheet. is forwarded to the gages. and mechanism for rendering the registering rolls inactive hefore the gages free the sheet.

H. A sheet feeding machine. ha\'ing. in comhination. edge gages. two registering rolls provided with series of sheet engaging surfaces and alternating depressions. the depressions in one roll heing in line with the sheet engaging surfaces in the other, and rolls cooperating with the two registering rolls.

5 A sheet feeding machine. having. in combination. front gages. and two transversely spaced registering devices. each of which acts repeatedly upon the sheet and in alternation with the other to advance the sheet against the front gages.

It). A sheet feeding machine. having. in comhination. front gages. and two transversely spaced sets of rolls. each set of which is constructed and actuated to repeatedl v engage and release the sheet in rapid succession and in alternation with the other.

11.. A sheet feeding machine. having. in comhination. front registering devices.sheet gripping devices for taking the sheet. a sheet withdrawing roll. and means for pressing the sheet against the roll when not properl v positioned at the front registering devices.

12. A sheet feeding machine. having. in comhination. front registering devices. sheet gripping devices for taking the sheet. a sheet witlulrawing roll. means for pressing the sheet against the roll. and means controlled hy the sheet when in position at the registering devices for rendering the sheet pressing means inactive.

1 A sheet feeding machine. having. in comhination, front gages. grippers for tale ing the sheet when in nosition at the front gages. a sheet witlulraw'ing segment. a cooperating roll. and sheet controlled means for actuating the segment and roll to withdraw the sheet from the front gages. 

